Nepal, May 15 -- The confirmation that 2024 was the hottest year on record, with global temperatures reaching 1.55 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, is a sobering reminder of how close we are to breaching the Paris Agreement's 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold. Although we have not yet permanently crossed this long-term average temperature limit, the urgency to act-and the window for doing so-is rapidly closing.

Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is still achievable, but only if countries take decisive action to drastically reduce emissions within this decade. Delaying climate action will only intensify the negative impacts the world is already beginning to face. Rising temperatures, heavier rainfall and more frequent ...